Excellent, a Must See

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

This is a film that really needed to be made, giving the "hearing" population a glimpse into not only the physical world of deaf and hard-of-hearing persons, but their emotional world, as well. This is not to imply that all hearing-impaired persons react identically, nor even similarly, to their limitation, but, as we see in the film, the conditions of the person's life, both inner and outer, are significantly altered by the deprivation of this sense.An important aspect of deafness is addressed in Children of a Lesser God: That of the psychological/emotional impact of those who verbally and physically abuse and neglect hearing-impaired persons. We see Sarah (and some current students) locked int their own world, to varying extents, refusing to communicate or even try. Sarah explains her avoidance and hostility at one point, describing childhood scenes when she was mocked and derided by her "hearing" peers.Her courage (and the very fire that breeds her hostility) enables and impels her to communicate (in no uncertain terms). Other, current students of the school are not so brave nor lucky: Some refuse to communicate even by sign language, and we can easily assume that this avoidant behavior is the direct result of not the disability, but the resultant abuse (including condescention) and neglect from family, "friends" and other members of society. Marlee Martin does an incredible job of acting, communicating her thoughts and feelings with just a look. If only the director had given John Leeds the responsiveness to be able to interpret Sarah's messages in her eyes, body language, etc., then the film could have been even better.Instead, Leeds often stands dumbfounded, not particularly intuitive, nor deep, nor complex. It is this deeper level of engagement that is missing from Hurt's acting, and from the script, in-general.When Leeds asks Sarah, "Who are you?", after having known her for quite some time, it is his own failure and shallowness that is illuminated. Sarah makes every effort to reveal as much of herself as she can. I am not certain that William Hurt had the chops for this role. One scene I wish had been done differently: That scene when John and Sarah are at his home, and he lays down to listen to some classical music: His relentless tension, deeply-ingrained rigidity and seriousness prevent him from allowing him to enjoy both Sarah's company, and the music, at the same time.He is completely at a loss of how to communicate anything of the music to her. He should have shown her the sheet music, and somehow illustrated the music, pointing to the notes and rests, revealing the flow (tempo) of it to her as it plays. This man seems frozen in some sort of selfishness and convention (even though he's been to all of the best schools).I commend the acting of the students of the school. If these persons are, in-fact, hearing-impaired, then it took great courage to break past the fears and antipathies that separate the "hearing" persons from those who have a hearing impairment. The direction was done in a manner that the dignity of all was maintained. Even the principal was shown to not be a monster of rigidity, and I appreciate the director's stepping outside of the standard formula in this regard.Children of a Lesser God is an important movie. The movies I consider important, I can count on both hands. If you want to broaden your world, watch it.

Children of a Lesser God (1986): Dir: Randa Haines / Cast: William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, Piper Laurie, Philip Bosco, Allison Gompf: Insightful yet overrated film about the physically limited and how God uses these limitation to make bigger things happen. It stars William Hurt who arrives to teach at a school for the deaf but is intrigued by a socially isolated female janitor. Directing debut for Randa Haines who explores the physical defects element as well as developing communication skills. Predictable narrative with Marlee Matlin giving a flawless performance in her frustration of being deaf and reluctance to communicate. Hurt is fantastic as a teacher struggling to communicate with her and obvious romance blooms. Piper Laurie plays Matlin's mother whom her daughter doesn't contact. Laurie's performance is the only supporting role worth the vision. Philip Bosco is given the standard role of principal whose job is to tell other teachers what to do then appear only when plot convenient. The students are written into useless subplots that present them as doing little more than occupying space. The strongest element regards the fascination with which these limitations become achievers with a chance future. The film isn't overly big on production and strives on its strong theme. The film's ambition is to aware everyone to the limitations and gifts of others. Score: 5 ½ / 10

The four main characters of Children of a Lesser God include James Leeds, Sarah Norman, Dr. Franklin, and Sarah's mother. The main characters of the film represent competing viewpoints of how Deafness is viewed by the public.James, portrayed by actor William Hurt, is an impassioned speech teacher at the school for the Deaf. He is creative in the classroom, a visionary, and an innovator who thinks outside the box. James has had a long string of short-term jobs which suggest to me that his head-in-the- clouds idealism clashed with the more pragmatic views held by previous administrators. To me, James represents my Deaf ed cohorts and me who maybe sometimes romanticize the field of education and our students and risk falling into the trap of appearing to be paternalistic towards our students despite our best intentions. Our hearts are in the right place, but sometimes we need to have our bubbles burst and brought back to reality.Sarah Norman, portrayed by Marlee Matlin (who is Deaf in real life), is a former student of the school where she now works as a custodian, despite her intellectual gifts. To me, Sarah represents the Deaf culture at large in that they're sometimes misunderstood by the hearing world. Sarah comes across as rebellious and angry, yet in actuality, she is hurt by the humiliation and isolation she has suffered at the hands of a few ignorant hearing people.Dr. Franklin, played by Philip Bosco, is the administrator of the school. He represents the "old-school" mentality of a practical and realistic education for the Deaf. In his eyes, Sarah is successful in that she has a job and is paying taxes. This is not to say that Dr. Franklin is a villain. He obviously cares about his students; he just doesn't see them as equals to hearing people. To give an example of his mindset, note how he contrasts his philosophy to that of James'. Dr. Frankin talking to James: "I'm sure you do have a lot of energy and a lot of new ideas. I did too when...But nobody's trying to change the world around here. Just trying to help a few deaf kids get along a little better. But that's all. Everything else is razzle-dazzle. Am I making myself clear?" Actress Piper Laurie plays Sarah's mother. She represents the families of Deaf children who struggle to put away their feelings of loss and disappointment after having a "disabled" child. Since Sarah's mother never learned to sign fluently, the miscommunication and misunderstandings between mother and child were inevitable.Four scenes come to mind when considering cultural and social dynamics of the movie Children of a Lesser God. One scene that points to the isolation sometimes felt by Deaf people in a hearing world was the dinner party where James is in the minority because the party goers are all Deaf or hearing people heavily involved in the Deaf community. Even though James is a user of sign language, his fluency is an issue and the participants are employing American Sign Language. His discomfort and feelings of exclusion are palpable. What is telling is that I don't believe James realized that the emotions he was feeling were the same feelings that kept Sarah from venturing into the world outside the school for the Deaf.Another scene that struck me was when James and Sarah were at a restaurant dancing as they communicated through sign language. There was another couple dancing nearby who couldn't keep their eyes off James and Sarah. The look on the couple's faces wasn't that of curiosity or fascination, but of morbid curiosity. It reminded me of people who rudely stare at amputees or those with physical "deformities."A third scene that pointed to the cultural and social dynamics between the hearing and Deaf worlds is when James brought Sarah to a poker party hosted by his hearing colleagues. Sarah had taken it upon herself to learn the rules of poker in order to fit in. Among his friends, James got all the credit for "training" her. Sarah caught on at the end of the party and was understandably hurt and annoyed by being likened to a trained dog.The fourth scene that called attention to the gulf between the hearing and Deaf worlds was when Sarah asked James to explain what music sounded like. He tried, but couldn't find the signs or even the words to explain the emotional power of music to a Deaf person. James' frustration at Sarah for not being able to hear the sounds he loved and Sarah's frustration for not being able to share in James' love of music created a fissure in the burgeoning relationship of the Deaf-Hearing couple.The main theme of the movie Children of a Lesser God is that love, good intentions, or government regulations can't easily bridge the abyss separating two cultures divided by history, maltreatment, and exploitation of the minority culture by the majority. You notice I said intervention can't easily bridge the gap. All of these things – love, good intentions, government involvement – can and have improved the lives of Deaf people and other disadvantaged groups, but it has taken time. The movie is about two ordinary people trying to overcome suspicion, bitterness, misunderstanding, and cultural missteps in order to find a common ground to explore their love. As James asked Sarah: "Do you think there's someplace where we can meet that's not in silence and not in sound?" This film remains one of my favorite movies and was the inspiration for my choice of avocation. Although some conventions that the movie uses, such as William Hurt orally interpreting Marlee Matlin's signs during private conversations, are sometimes grating, it is better than using subtitles. The movie is a good starting point for hearing individuals to develop an understanding of the complex hurdles that Deaf people must overcome.

Children of a Lesser God is a sensitive love story about James, a speech teacher who moves to a new deaf school and falls for introverted Sarah, a former student who decided to stay in the school because she can't relate with people.This movie is basically a story about overcoming the difficulties of communication between two people, but it's never that simple since Sarah has one of the strongest and most defensive personalities ever seen in a movie.As a deaf person, Sarah decided to rely on sex to gain men's affections and so can't commit to a meaningful relationship. She also fears James will treat her like everyone else always has. It's up to him to prove her wrong.William Hurt and Marlee Matlin are both perfect in this movie. The '80s were a great decade for Hurt, and he was already riding on the success of his previous Oscar victory. One could only expect a great performance from him. It's Matlin who's the revelation here, conveying her personality through body language and sign language. She proved that acting has nothing to do with words and deserve the Oscar for this performance.This movie is slow, sometimes dull, but for those with patience, it'll be quite rewarding on an emotional level.